"Trail of Tears" Re-enactment--A Great Way to Study a Painting

The Trail of Tears by Robert Lindneux, 1942

The Navigators and Gemstones have been studying Native Americans. 

As we learned about the "Trail of Tears," we looked at the details and the emotions of this painting. We then re-enacted the painting. Some of us were women and children, some were soldiers, some were horses, ponies, donkeys and dogs. 

The activity really gave us a "feel" for this sad part of American history.

 

  

We then went to our desks and wrote down some words to describe the painting. We came up with some good ones: stormy, dreary, dreadful, scary, frightening, dark, gloomy, despair, boring, tired, and more.

What a great way to experience art and history!

Thinking Like a Carcinologist

It was a perfect, sunny day for our visit to the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and a perfect way to pull together some of the things we have learned this year. Before we left, we talked about what to look for and to listen for. 

Here was our list:

• Animals (last time we went, one of our dad's spotted an American Bittern!)
• Native and non-native plants
• Native American treaty site - the first treat made in Washington state. It was called the treay of Medicine Creek.
• Conservation efforts - the dikes have been removed and the water flows freely throughout the estuary.

We learned all about the different types of habitats 

and had some great hands-on experiences. 

The refuge has an estuary, a riparian forest, a river, permanent freshwater wetlands,  and seasonal freshwater wetlands all in one beautiful place. 

We were given the opportunity to think like zoologists, botanists, ornithologists, entomologists, ichthyologists, carcinologists, and herpetologists!

We used our scientific research and recording skills.

We played!

We got to use binoculars and honed our observation skills.

We experienced native plants.

We experienced this non-native, invasive clinging plant.

We saw lots of wildlife including ducks, turtles and baby owls. 

We saw how the Native Americans used to live on this land. 

Thank you to all the knowledgeable and passionate volunteers who took us on a wonderful nature walk through the wildlife refuge. 

Still wondering what a carcinologist is? 

Good, then you're thinking like a life long learner, 

exactly what we're hoping our Seabury students are becoming.

Google it! I had to!! :) 

Did You Ever Wonder Why? The Navigators' "Pourquoi Stories"

We have read a lot of wonderful myths, legends, and folktales from around the world as we have studied native cultures. 

And now it's our turn to write a "pourquoi story" - a story that answers why - using the beginning, middle  and end format of story writing.

The Beginning

Have you ever wondered why the sun is in the sky?

Well, first....

Notice the descriptive language of this first grader's writing.

Did you ever wonder how the eagle got it's claws?

The beginning of the story: the setting (time and place) and the introduction of the main character

The Middle 

Can you imagine being a buffalo without fur? This is the middle of a story telling how terrible it must have been to have this problem! This story pulled in information we learned about the Plains Native Americans.

The mystery of Bigfoot has been wondered about for ages. Did you know he had to go on ten quests in order to get his big feet? Here's one of the quests:

Just in case you're wondering, here's what kangaroo had to go through to get to Australia (and this story was written before we studied geology!)

And it's hard to imagine the lengths the narwhal had to go to to get his "kabob" on his nose but this student spells it out with lots of details. 

You've probably asked the question, "How did the lizard get its spikes?"

Well, here's how it happened. Who knew??

Have you ever asked why the giraffe has a long neck and the elephant has a long trunk?

Well, of course, they  grabbed each other and pulled each other until...

The Resolution!

The End

And now we know "pourquoi", aren't you glad?!

Reading to our schoolmates:

A few extra touches:

(How do they come up with these things?)

  

Thanks for reading excerpts from our first grade stories. We each came up with our own idea, then typed up our stories using Microsoft PowerPoint, and finally illustrated them. Some students were totally independent with minimal editing (including quotation marks!) while others - those with fantastic, big ideas but are still working on getting them all down on paper - dictated parts of their stories. Differentiation is how we roll here at Seabury and the results are wonderfully amazing. 

Getting to Know the Cowlitz Up Close and Personal

We have had the privilege and the honor to learn about Native Americans from Native Americans! One of our students is a Cowlitz tribal member and her dad and her grandpa Bob came in several times to tell stories and teach us about how they do things. 

Walking sticks

and woven hats

Some of the carved items that hang on their walls at their home

Her grandfather, the Cowlitz tribal carver, came in to show us his tools 

and some of the things he has carved. 

 

It starts with a block of old growth cedar which is hard to come by these days. We watched how easy it is to make thin planks out of the wood.

Bob told us how he has an "abundance" of cedar to share with others, the mindset and a value we have discovered that many Native Americans have. 

Using all our senses - it smells so good!

Carving a feather for us. The trick is to pull the tool toward you.

 

We were each gifted a carved feather and three grades of sand paper. 

The goal was to make a very smooth feather. 

So we sanded and sanded and sanded.

  

 Thank you, Grandpa Bob, for the feathers and for coming in and showing us how to carve. 

We all gained an appreciation for the tall cedar trees that can be carved into beautiful things. 

The Navigators and the Gemstones enjoyed trying out the drum. 

What a great opportunity to experience the Native American culture up close and personal!

 Thank you, Bob and Danial!